What did Wan Xiuzi’s words mean?

Many people didn’t understand at first.

How could Xie Wei be Xiao Dingfei?

Wasn’t the Prince Dingfei who survived that great calamity standing properly in the corner right now? If Xie Wei was actually Xiao Dingfei, then who was this Xiao Dingfei? And how could he know so clearly about those events from back then?

It was clearly a simple sentence, yet in an instant it scrambled their minds.

Over twenty years ago, when the Heavenly Teaching rebel faction colluded with Prince Pingnan’s rebels to attack the capital, the story of that precociously intelligent Prince Dingfei sacrificing himself to save his master by substitution had already spread through every street and alley over these years.

But who had ever considered the truth within?

After all, everyone in this world had been taught since childhood to be loyal to the monarch and serve the nation. Not a single person would think about whether having one child die in place of another child was reasonable, whether it was justified, or even whether it was actually true.

They were accustomed to it.

A ruler is a ruler, a subject is a subject. A ruler can demand a subject’s death, and a subject should die for the ruler!

A person’s status, high or low, is determined by heaven.

For common people to climb even a single step upward, they need those lofty nobles to look favorably upon them, either becoming someone’s slave or someone’s subject, selling their talents, selling their lives, selling everything they can, all just to obtain a bit of leftover scraps casually bestowed by those in power!

People throughout the world lacked sufficient awareness.

So today, Xie Wei stood here.

Those who didn’t know the truth from back then felt bewildered and uneasy.

Those who did know the truth from back then instantly turned deathly pale!

In their eyes, at this very moment, Xie Wei standing before the Hall of Supreme Harmony was hardly a living person at all, but clearly a ghost revived from the grave, staring at them with that gaze from the netherworld!

“No, how is this possible…”

Duke Dingguo Xiao Yuan had already been injured in the earlier battle with the Heavenly Teaching and couldn’t move easily. At this moment, he looked at Xie Wei as if looking at a monster. His wide eyes were clearly filled with terror, yet as if telling others or telling himself, he began shouting loudly.

“No! Absolutely impossible! Not alike at all, not alike at all…”

Shen Lang’s pupils also suddenly contracted. That the Xinzhou Army of Xie Wei and Yan Lin would arrive first had already greatly exceeded his expectations, not to mention the thunderbolt from clear skies that Wan Xiuzi had suddenly dropped!

Xie Ju’an, Xiao Dingfei…

Even though he had already anticipated today’s chaos and thought he could remain composed, he was still struck by this sudden news such that his mind went blank for an instant. Immediately after, his heart felt as if it had sunk into an abyss, icy cold throughout!

Because after hearing Wan Xiuzi’s words, Xie Wei just stood there without the slightest intention of refuting them!

Xiao Shu’s gaze fell on Xie Wei, and also on Jiang Xuening not far from his side, before turning with some confusion toward Xiao Dingfei.

This “Prince Dingfei” who had been idle and accomplishing nothing since “returning to the capital” seemed to also notice her attention. At this moment, he actually threw her an especially bright smile.

Heaven knows what kind of mess he’d made of the Xiao clan these past two years!

Chaos and cacophony, not a single day of peace!

The already not particularly good reputation of the entire great Xiao clan had, under his debasement, fallen even further. People in the marketplace cursed them universally!

However, at this moment, he stepped forward with a beaming smile, pretending to be refined and elegant as he bowed to everyone, saying sheepishly: “I’m truly sorry. Actually, I really am also called Xiao Dingfei now. It’s just that, well, many years ago when I met my teacher, he didn’t want this name anymore and gave it to me. I figure you actually didn’t find the wrong person. However, these past two years, I’ve eaten your food, drunk your drink, enjoyed your entertainment, and spent quite a bit of your silver. I really am very embarrassed!”

Xiao Yuan nearly vomited blood from anger upon hearing this!

The young Xiao Ye was even more dumbstruck.

Xiao Shu’s refined face turned alternately pale and flushed, ugly to the extreme!

All the civil and military officials of the court were shocked.

This Xiao Dingfei was actually a fake!

This Prince Dingfei then sauntered over to Xie Wei’s presence, grinning: “How about it? This young master hasn’t disgraced this name, has he? Said I’d teach these bastards a lesson and I taught them a lesson. Too bad you weren’t in the capital these past two years—you missed so many great performances! But even without an audience, this young master was conscientious and diligent, and performed wonderfully!”

Xie Wei smiled faintly: “You haven’t disgraced it.”

The corner of Jiang Xuening’s mouth twitched slightly.

But Xiao Dingfei had long since noticed her. With a beauty before him whom he hadn’t seen in a long while, truly stunning, he got carried away and forgot himself. His pair of frivolous peach blossom eyes couldn’t help but wink at Jiang Xuening.

However, before Jiang Xuening could react, Xie Wei had already looked at him flatly.

Xiao Dingfei immediately felt a shiver run through his entire body.

He quickly retracted his gaze, straightened his posture, and obediently retreated to the side, not stopping until he reached Lü Xian.

Lü Xian was speechless.

Seeing this scene, who among those present still didn’t understand?

Xiao Yuan, recalling the grievances he’d suffered these past two years, couldn’t help trembling with anger. He raised his hand pointing at Xie Wei and rebuked: “So all of this was calculated by you! Even this human trash bastard was deliberately arranged by you! You, you—”

Xiao Dingfei rolled his eyes at him.

For an instant he wanted to say “who the hell are you cursing,” but catching a glimpse of Xie Wei from the corner of his eye, he reluctantly swallowed back his belly full of profanity and only cursed the eighteen generations of the Xiao clan’s ancestors in his heart.

But Xie Wei appeared calmer than anyone.

He walked forward.

With each step forward he took, the arrayed soldiers below the Hall of Supreme Harmony would suppress their fear and cautiously retreat one step backward.

Xiao Yuan’s gaze stared fixedly at him.

Xie Wei examined this person. There was actually no excess emotion stirring in his heart; he even smiled and said: “Indeed, not alike at all, is it?”

Everyone’s gaze fell on his face.

Without question, this former Imperial Tutor possessed an incomparable handsome appearance, with the reclusive air of a mountain hermit and the transcendent quality of an immortal banished from heaven. If paired with such an extremely faint trace of a smile, who in the world wouldn’t feel goodwill toward him?

He truly was not alike at all.

On the contrary, that imposter who had already shrunk to the side actually resembled Xiao Yuan by three or four parts in features—simply incredible!

But who said a son must look like his father, or a daughter must look like her mother?

In an instant, Xiao Yuan’s face became like dead wood!

Xie Wei looked at him and said: “I don’t resemble her, and I don’t resemble you either. So I’m neither kind like her, nor worthless like you. As things stand now, it’s actually just right.”

Not kind, then vicious.

Not worthless, then terrifying.

Everyone who heard these words felt a chill run down their spines!

Seeing such a scene, Wan Xiuzi laughed heartily from behind, clapping his hands: “Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!”

Back then, why hadn’t he killed Xie Wei?

Wasn’t it precisely for a scene like today?

To take revenge on the court, to scheme against the imperial family, to tear off the hypocritical mask of this so-called royal clan before everyone’s eyes, letting the world know just how much filth these people concealed within, and whether they were worthy of ruling the world!

Unfortunately, Xie Wei was not an easily manipulated puppet.

His plan ultimately couldn’t be fully completed, but now being able to witness half of it already brought him immense satisfaction!

Xie Wei didn’t want to acknowledge the mad Wan Xiuzi behind him, letting him live a bit longer for now. He only said: “The sage says, the debt of giving life should be repaid.”

A glimmer of hope suddenly surged in Xiao Yuan’s eyes.

He immediately said: “Yes, yes! Back then when Empress Dowager pushed you out to substitute for His Majesty, that was also a method of last resort! She is your aunt—how could she not care for you? Our Xiao clan, and even the imperial family, are all your blood relatives!”

When he spoke, he wasn’t careful enough. Just those two words “pushed out” in that one sentence had already allowed the surrounding officials to easily realize the truth lurking behind this, and their expressions suddenly changed!

Even Shen Lang’s face turned completely dark.

Xiao Shu looked toward Xie Wei, but unlike Xiao Yuan, she didn’t sense the slightest trace of mercy from this person’s face. On the contrary, only an ominous premonition crept into her heart!

At this moment, hearing Xiao Yuan’s words, Xie Wei actually laughed and even echoed: “Well said. All blood relatives—some consideration should be shown.”

Xiao Yuan nearly wept tears of joy.

However, Xie Wei looked down at him condescendingly and added in a light and breezy manner: “What kind of death would you prefer?”

What kind of death would you prefer!

With these words, that illusion of being reasonable from before was almost immediately shattered!

Not to mention the court officials—even the soldiers from the Heavenly Teaching and Xinzhou Army behind him couldn’t help but shiver coldly, chilled by the certain killing intent contained in those light and breezy words!

Xiao Yuan froze.

What followed immediately was the terror of approaching death.

He was closest to Xie Wei and could easily see his eyes that were so indifferent they held not a trace of emotion, making him feel a coldness from the depths of his heart, as if the souls of those three hundred righteous children buried in the snow back then were all attached to his body, and moreover there was a pair of eyes looking down at him through the void!

“No, no, don’t kill me…”

Xiao Yuan had never been any kind of strong-willed person. Upon realizing that Xie Wei truly intended to kill him, he couldn’t help but retreat backward.

He wanted to flee.

But the steps before the Hall of Supreme Harmony had never seemed so long. The distance that could normally be covered in just a short while now seemed endless no matter how long he walked.

Xie Wei didn’t have anyone pursue him. He only extended his hand backward.

Dao Qin took down the bow and arrows he carried and placed them in his hands.

Xie Wei looked at that panicked, stumbling figure, took the bow and arrow, then drew the bow and nocked an arrow. The arrowhead of the carved feather arrow glinted with a dim cold light, aimed from afar at Xiao Yuan’s retreating back. He only said: “On such a fine day as today, how can Empress Dowager not be present? Jian Shu, take people to find her.”

“Whoosh”—his fingers gently released, and the bowstring violently trembled!

The carved feather arrow flew from the string!

Xiao Yuan’s figure, hurrying down the steps, suddenly shuddered. An arrow just like that shot into his back. His body swayed, but he didn’t immediately fall.

What followed was the second arrow, the third arrow!

The first arrow only pierced his back, the second arrow had already shot through his heart, the third arrow directly penetrated his skull!

The blood-stained arrowhead drilled out from between his brows.

Xiao Yuan, whose hair had already turned gray, still had the terror in his eyes before it could dissipate when he gradually lost all expression. With a “thud,” his entire body pitched forward face-down. Blood gushed from his front, staining the white marble steps red.

Patricide!

Everyone in court and countryside was shocked speechless.

Shen Lang, standing among the crowd, was even more blazing with fury.

However, what made him even more uneasy wasn’t Xiao Yuan’s death, but rather what Xie Ju’an had said to those few people beside him when he released that arrow!

Xiao Shu never would have expected that Xie Wei would dare to act so brazenly in public!

Xiao Ye stood stunned for a long while. He had a straightforward temperament that wasn’t good at concealment, and his eyes immediately turned red. He charged straight at Xie Wei: “You killed my father—I’ll fight you to the death!”

However, Xie Wei only glanced at him.

He didn’t even need to act himself.

Dao Qin had his blade in hand. Before Xiao Ye could even get close to Xie Wei, he had already directly stabbed the blade into his chest, then withdrew it without changing expression.

Xiao Shu’s face turned pale with shock as she cried out: “Little brother!”

Xiao Ye looked down.

A bloody hole had opened in his chest. Blood almost instantly stained half his body red. He touched it with his hand, still showing some confusion in his eyes, then retreated two steps just like that and fell to the ground.

His young eyes remained wide open, never to close again.

Before the entire Hall of Supreme Harmony, there was almost a deathly silence!

Dao Qin and Jian Shu beside Xie Wei had been seen by quite a few people in court and countryside. On ordinary days they ran errands and handled some trivial matters. Everyone had thought they were merely two attendants with some martial arts skills.

Dao Qin spoke little and had higher martial skills.

Jian Shu was smooth and worldly-wise.

But who could have imagined that now, acting without a word, they would be so cruelly efficient, not even blinking an eye before taking a person’s life!

And this person should also have been Xie Wei’s brother…

When everyone now looked at Xie Wei, what echoed in their minds was only that sentence from earlier when Wan Xiuzi had been at the height of madness: This was hardly any sage or Imperial Tutor—this was clearly a demon demanding lives and blood debts!

Two people from the Xiao clan had died in succession, yet for Xie Wei, it seemed to have no effect whatsoever.

He only looked toward Shen Lang.

As if sensing his unease and fear, after shooting Xiao Yuan dead with three arrows and watching Dao Qin kill Xiao Ye, he appeared perfectly ordinary, turned back, and said to him indifferently: “Don’t be anxious.”

Don’t be anxious—your turn will come soon.

And truly, everyone didn’t have to wait long.

From the direction of the rear palace, before long came terrified shouts: “Who are you people? What do you want to do? How could you know the location of the secret chamber?! Release this dowager, release this dowager!”

Empress Dowager Xiao was dragged over.

Her phoenix hairpin had toppled askew, her hair bun was disheveled, and on her face that had already shown some signs of age, there was nothing but terror.

She had originally been hiding in that secret chamber in the imperial palace that only the imperial family knew about, attempting, as twenty-some years ago, to conceal herself within and survive the calamity, waiting for the rebellion to be quelled.

But who would have thought—

Just moments ago, the stone door had opened, and a group of people she completely didn’t recognize had actually walked in, treating her with no respect whatsoever like a criminal, dragging her all the way here!

Jian Shu threw the person before the Hall of Supreme Harmony and bowed to Xie Wei: “Teacher, the person has been brought.”

Only then did Empress Dowager Xiao see Xie Wei: “Xie Wei?”

Confusion still remained in her heart, but when she turned her eyes and saw Xiao Ye’s blood-covered corpse, she cried out in fright. When she instinctively sought Xiao Yuan, she discovered there was no sign of him among the officials.

The originally lofty Duke Dingguo was now inferior to even a corpse in the wilderness, collapsed at the bottom of those long steps.

Empress Dowager Xiao searched for a long time before she saw him.

Her gaze swept past Shen Lang, looked toward Wan Xiuzi, then toward Xie Wei. She finally realized an unprecedented danger and shrieked: “Someone come, protect His Majesty, protect His Majesty!”

Over these years, Xie Wei had after all been an outer minister.

He hadn’t seen the Empress Dowager many times, but this face was always branded in the depths of his memory, not a trace forgotten.

However, in the blink of an eye, twenty-three years had passed.

Things change, stars shift, people and events transform.

Now, he was the one holding the blade, and they were the prisoners.

Xie Wei didn’t look at her. He only returned the bow in his hand to Dao Qin, then took a blade instead, and actually gazed at Shen Lang, saying: “While the person you’re waiting for hasn’t arrived yet, choose now.”

Hearing these words, even the corner of Shen Lang’s eye twitched.

But Xie Wei acted as if he hadn’t said anything that penetrated heavenly secrets.

He tossed that blade before Shen Lang and Empress Dowager Xiao, his voice light and gentle like clouds drifting across the sky: “You personally kill her, or she personally kills you. Or perhaps, I’ll help you choose…”

Back then, the imperial family had forced him to make a choice between substituting for Shen Lang and protecting Yan Min. Today, he threw the same choice before this most noble mother and son pair in the world!

All the civil and military officials of the court were already too terrified to speak a word.

What a ruthless heart Xie Ju’an had—he was actually going to forcibly stage a tragic human ethics case of mother and son killing each other right here in the Forbidden City!